Black Contemporary American Artists : Faith Ringgold

Faith Ringgold is a multimedia artist best known for her paintings in quilt form. In addition to visual arts, Ringgold is a celebrated author of various works including Tar Beach, a children’s book which won the Caldecott award along with the Coretta Scott King award for best illustrated children’s book in 1991. Faith Ringgold was born in 1930 in Harlem, New York and is the descendant of African Americans who resettled in the North during the Great Migration. As a child she was surrounded by the cultural boon taking place during the Harlem Renaissance. She earned both her BA in Art Education and a Master’s degree from the City College of New York and is a Professor Emeritus of Art at the University of California, San Diego. Ringgold’s work is influenced by her travels abroad in Europe, West Africa, and American history. Her work, regardless of media, is narrative in composition with bold colors, patterns, that often times are juxtaposed with subjects such as African American history and politics.

“About Faith.” (n.d.). Faith Ringgold. Retrieved January 18, 2023 from https://www.faithringgold.com/about-faith/
Monohan, A. (2019). Faith Ringgold. Retrieved January 18, 2023 from https://www.moma.org/artists/7066#:~:text=Faith%20Ringgold%20is%20an%20African,Gender%20Female
Faith Ringgold, Groovin High,1996, Silkscreen, 32.5 x 44 in., Mattatuck Museum, https://www.mattmuseum.org/mattatuck_carousel/faith-ringgold/

Faith Ringgold, Tar Beach #2, 1990, quilt, 66 x 67 in., Philadelphia Museum of Art, https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/86892